Kathie Lee Marks Milestone on ‘Today’ with Booze and Babs

It was a special Booze Day Tuesday on Kathie Lee and Hoda. The pair actually had something to toast about this week, namely KLG and hubbie Frank Gifford’s 25th wedding anniversary. Technically, the occasion came and went on Sunday, but Kath arrived at work ready for some public reminiscing. And, unexpectedly, a bit of interesting trivia.

After having the staff cue up Barbara Streisand’s schmaltz-ariffic ballad “Somewhere,” she explained how “Exorcist” director William Friedkin had directed the song’s accompanying video. Then again, she also stood up and wobbled while proclaiming, “I know you get confused cause it sounds like me,” so the show may as well have been re-christened Tangential Tuesday.

Naturally, the giddy “Today” host then subjected a nationwide audience to scrapbook photos documenting she and Frank’s quarter-century union, including a gratuitous, bare-chested shot of Mr. G at the beach, about which Kathie cooed, “Hunka hunka burnin’ love.” Although she also had the presence of mind to poke fun at their being a collective 138 years of age and, at one seemingly unprompted moment, yelled out, “I don’t care what you all say, he is their father.”

As Kathie and Hoda sipped their Cosmos and moved on to other pressing matters, it was hard not to optimistically envision another 25 years of priceless KLG soundbites as she and her beloved Frank inch closer to senility. And for that, we raise our glasses and thank Kathie for two-plus decades of uncomfortable, squirmy, hilarious insight into her life and marriage.